My Sweet Red-Haired Goddess
By Julie
It?s Friday! Woo-hoo! And Friday means that Willow?s coming over. We all know that?s a good thing. Oz walked in through the front door of his house and set down his keys and the movies. Willow was going to Oz?s house to watch movies. They had decided to watch ?Picture Perfect? and ?Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery?.
He remembered questioning her about it earlier that day. ?Why ?Austin Powers??"
?Because, I need a good laugh and there?s this guy in the movie that looks exactly like you, only different hair color.?
?The change can be arranged you know.?
?Nah, I like your hair the way it is.? Oz?s currently strawberry-blond hair had gotten him many compliments from Willow, so he had decided to keep it that way for a while. He checked the clock on the VCR on their den as he put the movies on the table by the couch. 7:35. Willow should be here in the next ten minutes.
As if his thoughts manifested themselves, he heard a knocking at the door that caused him to jump slightly at the freakiness of it. He ran to the door and opened it. ?Hey Will! How?s be you??
She laughed at his purposely, grammatically incorrect sentence. ?I?m fine. Did you get the movies we decided on??
?Sure did, my lady.?
?My gratification can?t be expressed with words, my sir.?
?Oh, then how can it?? She leaned over and gave him a soft gentle kiss on the lips that left him feeling shocked for a minute. He pulled himself together and led her into the den, where they settled down to watch the movie.
***
Willow and Oz lay curled up on the couch as they finished the second movie of the night, ?Picture Perfect?. They were at the part where Kate goes to Nick at the church to say that she missed him. He let the credits roll for a few moments and looked down at Willow, who had fallen asleep beside him. He looked down at her and studied her face. She looked peaceful, yet exhausted. He knew that she was since Giles had her doing a lot of research to make sure that there were no evil prophecies coming to harm them. He sighed, knowing that she was supposed to go over to Buffy?s to spend the night, but he didn?t have the heart to wake her. He picked up the cordless phone and called Buffy using a number that he had memorized, just in case.
?Hello?? said the voice on the other end.
"Hey Buffy, its Oz.?
?Oh, hey Oz. What?s up? Nothing?s wrong, is there??
?Oh no, nothing?s wrong. It?s just I called to tell you that Willow won?t be coming over to your house.?
?Why? She ok??
?Oh, she?s fine, she just fell asleep while we were watching movies and I don?t have the heart to wake her.?
?Let her sleep. Giles? been running her ragged for him. She deserves to sleep. Take care of her Oz.?
?I will.?
?I don?t doubt it. Well, thanks for telling me and bye.?
?Bye Buffy.? Oz hung up the phone and turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who was sleeping silently.
She was lying on her back and she had her head facing the TV. She folded her arms across her stomach as she turned her head towards him. She took in a deep breath and relaxed again on the couch. Oz, who was lying on his side, propped up by his elbow, took his free hand and gently stroked her hair. As she lay there, completely oblivious to what was going on around her, Oz started thinking of all the times he had seen or ran into Willow?
***
He stood at the edge of the stage, surveying the crowd on front of him. He looked over at Devon, who was crooning into to mike. How does he do that? How CAN he do that? While I?m at it, how can he date that Cordelia creature? Just the thought of dating her sends chills up my spine. And what does he see in her? I mean, sure, she?s somewhat attractive, but she doesn?t have what I?m looking in a girl. Come to think of it actually, none of the girls I know have what I?m looking for. I mean, you can tell if someone is truly beautiful by the look in her eyes. She has to be smart, pretty, not wear too much make-up, kind, sweet, and sensitive towards others. Devon says I?m too picky, but at least I know what I want in a girl. And if a girl has what I?m looking for, I?ll be able to tell by her eyes, but fat chance of that ever happening?
He looked back over the dance floor, trying to see if there was any girl that he was slightly interested in. He looked around the edge of the crowd and stopped when he saw someone that took his breath away. She was standing at the edge of the crowd, wearing an Eskimo costume, the edges of her red hair poking out of the hood of her parka. If that isn?t original, then I don?t know what is.
He motioned Devon to come over to him. There was something about that girl that fascinated him. ?Hey. That girl. Who is she??
Devon looked out into the crowd and spotted the girl he thought Oz was talking about. ?She?s an exchange student. I think she?s from South America.?
Oz found the girl Devon was talking about. She was dancing with a tall, dark-haired boy. Sorry, try again. ?No, not her. The Eskimo!?
Devon looked at his friend, shook his head, and turned back to the mike. She looked up at the stage and briefly looked at Oz, giving him a chance to look at her face completely. God, she?s beautiful. I wonder who she is?
Several minutes later, when the set was over, he put down his guitar and walked over to the spot where she had been earlier. Where could she have gone? He spotted her, talking to one of her friends, who wasn?t wearing a costume, but her regular clothes. He went up to her and reached out to touch her on the shoulder to get her attention. ?Hey, I??
She ran the other way with her friend in a hurry. He let out a little laugh and said, ?Who is that girl??
***
He tapped his finger on the edge of the steering wheel of his van as he listened to the music that came blasting through his CD player. He had just finished a gig and he was glad it was over. It was Halloween and he wanted to get home for a horror movie fest. But, what he really wanted to do was meet that red-haired girl he saw at the dance a few weeks ago. He was completely and utterly fascinated by her and would do anything to meet her. He sighed and pulled closer to the corner to turn and looked around to make sure that no one was coming when he saw her again. She started walking across the street, wearing a midriff showing, maroon top and a short, black miniskirt with her hair up in a sloppy looking bun with long tendrils framing her face.
Oh?Wow! He thought he might die of shock at seeing her wearing next to nothing. But even though she had done a complete reversal from the last time he saw her, he still remained stimulated by the sight of this girl, and he didn?t even know her name. She carried herself with confidence as she strutted across the street. Oz could do nothing but stare with his mouth open as she continued to walk across the street. Oz internally swore that he wasn?t able to do anything, though he wanted to open the door and talk to her, but he was too shocked to move. He watched her go down the street when he was finally able to say something. ?Who IS that girl??
***
Oz looked down onto Willow, who was resting comfortably now. He could hear the sound of her breathing, going in and out in a steady rhythm. He smiled as he remembered the first time he met her at the career fair?
***
The two guys in the suits had asked him to come aside and ?talk? to them. They placed him in a section of the lounge that was closed off from the rest of the career fair. ?Wait, where are you guys going??
?We?re going to find the other student that we have chosen to meet with Mr. McCarthy.?
They walked through the curtain, leaving Oz there by himself. Great. They?ll probably bring back some geek-faced nerd that barely says anything. My life?s fun! He looked down on the table and saw a tray on canapé. Looks interesting? He picked it up and studied it, wonder what the hell it could possibly be. He got so interested, that he was brought out of his daze when he heard someone sit down on the couch. He slowly looked up from the tray of canapé and over to the spot where someone had sat down. He quickly glanced over at the person, but did a double take when he realized that it was her. The girl that he had admired from afar. He silently prayed to the heavenly powers above for this perfect opportunity.
She smiled meekly at him as he continued to stare. Oz, man, you gotta say something soon. He looked back down at the tray that he held in his hand and offered it to her. ?Canapé??
?Oh, no, that?s ok.?
He sensed the distaste in her voice. ?You don?t like it either??
She looked up at him. ?No, it?s not that. I just don?t know what it is, ya know??
He smiled at her and nodded. ?Yeah, I know what you mean.?
She flashed him a brilliant smile and Oz realized that this was the girl that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He looked at her and said, ?Name?s Oz.?
She looked back at him and said, ?Willow.? She stuck out her hand and he shook it, feeling a shock as his hand touched hers.
They released each others hand and she stared at him. ?You know, you look familiar. Like I?ve seen you before but never met you.?
Oz smiled at her and thought Well, at least she recognizes me from somewhere. It?s a start.
***
Oz then remembered the time that he took the bullet for her?
***
Oz was sitting in the student lounge, looking down at his hands, thinking about Willow, whom he had met a couple of days ago. Willow Rosenberg. Smart, pretty, sweet, and absolutely amazing. I think I?m in love. He perked up at the sight of her voice coming down the hall. It was like he could pick out her voice in a crowd. He looked up and saw her with one of he friends. He saw who it really was and was somewhat shocked. One of her friends is that girl that slammed me up against the wall and demanded that I ?try it?? Things could be worse. He looked back at Willow, who was talking to her friend. Her friend was obviously excited about something, because she had grabbed Willow?s hands and was bouncing up and down excitedly. Willow looked over at him and then back at her friend. Time to make an appearance.
He walked over to Willow and her friend, casually glancing at her friend as she said, ?Told you? and walked off to one of the booths. ?Hey,? he said quietly.
?Hey.? She looked at his hair. ?Your hair. Is brown.?
?Oh yeah, uh, sometimes.? She noticed. Cool. ?So, uh, have you decided. Are you going to be a corporate computer suit guy??
?Well, uh, I think I?m going to finish high school first,? she said, her face somewhat serious. She relaxed and said, ?What about you??
?I?m not really a computer person or a work of any kind person.?
?Then why?d they select you??
?Oh, well I sorta test well, except then it leads to jobs.?
?Well don?t you have some ambition??
?Oh yeah, yeah. E-flat diminished ninth.?
?Huh??
?Well the E-flat, it?s-it?s doable, but it?s that diminished ninth, you know? It?s a man?s chord. You could lose a finger.? ?Oh, about?? He got cut off by the sound of a gun firing.
He looked in the direction that it came from and saw Willow?s friend wrestling for control of the gun. He looked back at Willow, who muttered, ?Oh no, another Tarakan assassin.? He looked back at the lady with the gun who had it pointed at Buffy. She yelled, ?Get down!?
The police lady fired the gun and Oz realized that it was about to hit Willow, so he grabbed her hand and pushed her out of the way. The bullet hit him in the arm. As long as Willow?s ok, I don?t care.
They landed on the ground and Willow sat up. ?Oh my god, Oz. I?m so sorry.? She helped him up and he looked around, clutching his right arm. Willow?s friend came over and knelt down on the ground. ?He?s shot!? Willow told her friend. She directed her attention to Oz. ?Are you ok??
?Oh, yeah, I?m shot. You know, wow. It?s odd. And painful.? Her friend got up and started talking to a tall African-American girl. ?Are you sure you?re going to be ok??
?Yeah Willow. I?ll be fine.?
Her friend turned to her and said, ?Hey Will, I?m going to the library, ok? I have to talk to Giles. Are you coming??
?Yeah, just as soon as the paramedics come. Tell Giles I?ll be right there, Buffy.?
?Ok Willow,? Buffy said as she ran the other way, towards the library. Oz looked up at Willow, who said to him, ?Oz, I really feel bad about this. I?ll find a way to make it up to you. But, I should probably go.?
?It?s ok. You don?t have to be here.? She thought about it for a minute, and said, ?I?ll stay with you until the paramedics come.? She smiled at him and he smiled back, grateful that she was there.
***
Oz crouched down to get his box of animal crackers out of the slot of the snack machine in the lounge. He stood up and found Willow standing there. ?Oh hey. Animal cracker??
?No thank you. How?s you?re arm??
?Suddenly painless.? And I do mean literally. Just your being here takes the pain away.
?You can still play the guitar ok??
?Well, not well, but not worse.?
?You know I never really thanked you??
?Oh yeah, please don?t. I don?t do thanks. I get all red. Have to bail. It?s not pretty.?
?Well then forget that thing. Especially the part where I kind of owe you my life.? I could never forget it if I tried.
?Oh, look a monkey. And he has a little hat and little pants.?
?I see.?
?The monkey?s the only cookie animal that gets to wear clothes, you know that.? She flashed him that smile that made Oz?s heart melt. I?ll compliment her on it. ?You have the sweetest smile I have ever seen.?
She looked taken aback for a minute while Oz continued and walked on. ?So I ?m wondering, do the other cookie feel sorta ripped. Like is the hippo going ?Hey man, where are my pants. I have my hippo dignity.? And the monkey?s all ?I mock you with my monkey pants? and there?s this big coup in the zoo.?
Willow laughed and said, ?The monkey is French??
?All monkeys are French. You didn?t know that??
?No?? She laughed again as they walked down the hall.
***
Oz laughed lightly as the memory of that conversation. One of the things he liked about himself was the ability to make Willow laugh. He knew Willow liked it to. He leaned down and gently kissed her, remembering when she first kissed him. They had just found out that he was a werewolf and he and Willow were discussing it. He said that maybe he should stay out of her way for a while and she said that she liked having him around, so they decided to continue to see each other. She had walked away, leaving him to stare at her as she did. He remembered seeing her stop, turn around, walk back, and kiss him. She turned around again and went off to her next class. He lay down next to her and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep next to her.
Over the night, they had moved closer together. They were both facing each other. He had his arm around her waist. Their noses were almost touching as Oz woke up. He was kind of shocked to see Willow sleeping so close to him. He took his hand off of her waist and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. What about her attracts me to her? I don?t know, but I don?t care. She?s perfect. She?s loyal, intelligent, kind, sweet, funny, absolutely beautiful?it would take too long to describe everything I like about her. There is no describing her. She?s perfect. I mean, when she found out I was a werewolf, she still stayed with me. Not many girls would do that. That?s probably what makes her so special. That fact that she?s not like other girls. She?s the most unique person that I have ever met in my life. I can?t imagine my life without her in it. If anything happened to her, I would kill myself. I wouldn?t be able to live without her in my life. She?s so beautiful? He tipped her chin up and kissed her on the lips. ?I love you, my sweet, red-haired goddess.?
She opened her eyes and said. ?I love you too.? She leaned over and kissed him firmly on the lips and both of them decided that they would never let each other go as long as the lived.
